If your energy bills are suddenly more expensive, you may be trying to figure out the cause. Many times, it can be a process of elimination to figure out why your energy costs have increased. But since your heater is one of the largest appliances in your home, there is a good chance that it’s to blame for rising energy bills.
Even better than guessing on your own, you can schedule HVAC service in Saginaw, TX with our team of professionals. We can help you by troubleshooting potential heater issues and fixing anything that we identify as a problem. You can also keep reading to learn more about common factors that can contribute to high energy costs.
Lack of Insulation
And sometimes the problem is not with your heater at all. Instead, the problem is that heat is escaping your home before it even has a chance to increase the temperature. If your home needs more insulation, heat doesn’t stand a chance.
You can schedule an appointment for our team to complete a heating inspection at your home. We won’t just look at your heater. We will also take all additional factors into consideration, including insulation and other ways that heat can escape your home, like gaps around windows and doorways.
Holes in Ductwork
It is equally possible that there are holes in your ductwork allowing heat to escape before ever reaching your home. Experts estimate that losing just 20% of the heat that your furnace produces can increase your energy costs by as much as 50%.
And if the holes in your ductwork are significant enough, no amount of additional heating effort will help make your home warmer. This is another issue that we can address during an inspection. We can complete ductwork testing to identify where holes are so that we can repair or replace sections of your ductwork until they are completely airtight.
Repair Needs
You can pay attention to heater operation as a means of identifying repair needs. If your heater begins to operate differently, that’s a red flag. For example, your heater may turn on and stay on for lengthy heating cycles or turn on and off persistently without staying on long enough to heat your home up to begin with.
It’s also important to be aware of unusual sounds and smells coming from your heater. These can indicate that something is wrong with heater operation that needs to be addressed with repairs. Ignoring the signs of impending heater problems only leads to more significant repair needs and potentially even a heater breakdown. Addressing smaller problems is easier and less expensive than waiting for your heater to break down completely.
Heater Age
Even if there are no signs of heater problems, the older that your heater is, the more likely it is that there are repair needs. Heaters are only designed to last for about 10–15 years before they need to be replaced.
Usually in the last year or two of its service life, a heater will experience an uptick in repair needs as components wear down and need to be replaced. Heater maintenance is always important to schedule, but increasingly so toward the end of your heater life when you want to stay on top of problems and prevent breakdowns.
Contact Don’s AC Service, Inc today to schedule an appointment for your HVAC and indoor air quality needs!